>> LOW-INCOME HOUSING
Baldwin County is making an effort to utilize grant funds to build homes for two low-income families, and it needs the cooperation of the city of Milledgeville.
That cooperation has not been immediately forthcoming, however.
The county has been awarded $600,000 in state and federal funds and is seeking to establish a separate, legal entity that could accept property and covey it to Habitat for Humanity Milledgeville-Baldwin County. That non-profit agency would oversee the construction of two of four homes for low-income families.
To accomplish that goal, county officials want to establish the Baldwin County Land Bank, and, pursuant to state law, a municipality must be a partner in that effort. Representatives of the two governments met to discuss the project in March, and Milledgeville’s City Council voted on the proposed intergovernmental agreement last Tuesday, June 13.
Mayor Mary Parham-Copelan was forced, due to other city business, to leave during the work session prior to that meeting, and that vote resulted in a 3-3 tie, failing to pass. Had she been present, Parham-Copelan would have broken the tie. Council members did agree to place the matter on the agenda of the next meeting, June 27.
The land bank, if established, would have the authority to purchase and convey real estate, to wipe out taxes and liens, and to clear up titles, among other possible powers. The goal of the legislature in enacting the law is to give communities the mechanism to restore property to a state where it will not be an economic drain on that county or city.
“Dilapidated, abandoned, and tax delinquent properties impose significant costs on neighborhoods and communities by lowering property values, increasing fire and police protection costs, decreasing tax revenues, and undermining community cohesion,” the statue states.
“Land banks are one of the tools that can be utilized by communities to facilitate the return of dilapidated, abandoned, and tax delinquent properties to productive use,” the enabling legislation further reads.
The City of Milledgeville has offered changes to the proposed agreement, and County Manager Carlos Tobar said the county has no problem with those requests: increasing the number of city appointees on the Land Bank’s board from three to four (decreasing the county’s appointees from six to five) and adding language giving Milledgeville more control as to what type of non-profit agency may receive property located in the municipality.
“All of the things the city objected to before, all the concerns they had, we’ve addressed in this document, in writing,” he said.
T agreement contains language that addresses other issues raised by the city.
“These land banks can do quite a bit,” Tobar stated. “Because the city was nervous about the intent of this land bank authority, there are a lot of things we did to try to take away their fear. That’s why we put the language in there that this land bank authority will be prohibited from receiving property the county acquires by enforcement of the Unsafe Building Abatement Ordinance.”
Tobar cannot understand the city’s stance. He pointed out that the Board of Commissioners wants to donate two county lots for the construction of houses for low-income families.
“Affordable housing; that should be a universal desire,” Tobar said. “To have three aldermen vote no for affordable houses for low-income individuals is mind-boggling.”
The county manager went on to say the city will be the governmental entity receiving the benefits of the proposed new homes. The grant application showed that the city’s population was growing and the county’s decreasing at that time. If the lots used for the grant request are in the city, additional points would be added to the county’s application, according to Tobar.
“The lots are in the city. So, the city will collect property taxes on those new homes and have new city water customers. This is just perplexing,” said Tobar.
City Council member Walter Reynolds is one of the three who voted in favor of the measure and is a strong proponent of the proposed agreement.
“I am absolutely in favor of the land bank and will again vote for It,” Reynolds affirmed, adding that he is hopeful that one council member will change their vote or that the mayor will break the tie in favor of the agreement.
Reynolds pointed out that the land bank authority can wipe out delinquent taxes on property as well as help with issues that arise with heir property that has been abandoned for various reasons, which has left the status of the title in doubt.
“Being able to run properties that are otherwise abandoned through a land bank cleans the title, clears the taxes, and makes it so that those properties can be incorporated into adjacent lots to make it appropriate for new home construction,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds believes the land bank would be advantageous for the city.
“It just gives us a new tool to be able to deal with problems that the city and the county by themselves are unable to deal with,” he said. “I think it puts a greater power in the local community.